A Midsummer Night's Ball
by GoldenSkittle
Summary: It's Lughnasadh - A time where the veil between words is thin enough for the otherworldly to travel. What perfect time to put on a performance! However, things are not as they seem for the audience, and certainly not what they seem for Sarah Williams.


**A Midsummer Night's Ball**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Queen's Wood (Backstage Area): 1st of August, 7:50pm<span>**

Sarah shifted uncomfortably in her costume, wincing every so often as one of the runners retied the lacing at the back of her dress.  
>She was already finding it difficult to breath properly before one of the costume designers intervened, and now not only was the corset's boning digging unmercifully into her but breathing like a normal person had become substantially more difficult.<em><br>...Perhaps I should ask her to loosen it just a tad, for the sake of my lungs at le -Gahhh!_

She nearly yelped as the runner made the final pull at the base of the corset, the fabric cinching her stomach in and forcing her back unnaturally straight.  
><em>Can't breath...Too tight...<em>_**Way **__too tight..._  
>"Do you want to take a look now that I'm finished?" The runner asked behind her, seemingly unaware (or uncaring) of the pain she was in.<br>"Err, yes... Please."

Having not seen herself when she was having her makeup and hair done, Sarah welcomed the opportunity to see what she looked like in her costume, and managed to walk towards the mirror without keeling over from the corset's vice-like grip. What she saw in the mirror's reflection however, had her completely shocked for words.

The years had been kind to Sarah Williams. Even at twenty-one her face still hadn't lost all of its baby fat. Her eyes were still a bright emerald that was not yet jaded by the world - and her skin was unmarred and smooth as alabaster. She had even kept the same hairstyle from her youth, but had modernized it with choppy layers that made her hair look fluffy and thinner.  
>It was her figure however which had altered dramatically over the past few years. She was no longer lean and stick thin like in her youth, but had grown curvier and fuller in the body.<br>She wasn't heavy, but by no means was she stick thin like some of the dancers she had seen around campus. Not that she couldn't stand to lose a few pounds, but she was happy with herself.

But that being said, tonight that Sarah Williams did not exist.

-.-

The corset had completely flattened her stomach, accentuating the feminine curve of her hips and the fullness of her chest. In fact, looking down the corset did more than just accentuate._  
>My boobs are practically on display for crying out loud!<em> She shrieked mentally, horrified that everyone could see so much of her chest. _Obviously didn't think the whole corset thing through when I picked them... Well... Nothing I can do about it now._  
>Sarah did a twirl, examining the fit of the corset and the way the skirt picked up around her.<br>Rib-crushing and skin-exposing aside, Sarah had to admit - she didn't look half bad.  
><em>It looks kinda good on me now that I think about it...I look...<br>Seductive_

On closer inspection she found the makeup only enhanced her characterisation further. The artist had told her that she wished to exploit her naturally pale skin tone, so unlike her fellow cast members her skin had been only enhanced by the smallest amount of rouge and looked more natural than layers of foundation. Her lips had been painted a tasteful shade of red, akin to the colour of blood which gave her lips a fuller look without them being plumped. But bizarrely, the one thing she thought would look out of place was the upswept eyebrows.  
><em>I have no idea where that idea came from. It just fell out my mouth when I was discussing ideas with the makeup artist.<em>  
>But they looked... <em>Right<em>.  
><em>Menacing<em>  
><em><br>Props to the makeup artists... I look... Ethereal..._

_I look like a Fae._

_**Sarah...  
><strong>__  
><em>She had heard that voice before, but knew that it was coming from within her own head - A sense of familiarity and fear sweeping over her within an instant.  
>It had said her name, the name belonging to her... a part of her... It was made to sound sultry and dark and rich as a velvet caress.<em><br>Who...?  
><em>_**  
>...I ask for so little. Just <span>fear<span> me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave...  
><strong>_Clipped, British... but perhaps not. Masculine. Unbearably sensual.

**...Your eyes can be so cruel...**

_I've heard this voice before but why can I not remember? __**  
>...I am exhausted from living up to your expectations of me...<strong>_

"Is everything okay?" The runner asked cautiously from behind her, noticing the vacant expression that had formed in Sarah's eyes. She hastily drew her eyes away from the mirror, her mind still processing what, or why she had just heard somebody else's voice in her head.  
><em>That voice.. Those words... they sounded familiar but at the same time I don't recall every hearing someone speak them to me.<br>__**Sarah.**_

She realised that the runner was still there, and looking rather concerned.  
>"I'm fine, just spaced out a little there. Yes, everything looks great; they've done a wonderful job. Thanks for helping me with the lacing."<br>"Okay... well if you need anything, give me call."  
>She watched as the runner made her way into the throng of performers, all the while hearing the echo of spoken words in her mind.<br>_It's just an auditory-hallucination. No big deal... Probably just nerves or something... I just need to take a deep breath and stay focused._

-.-

Sarah took a few deep breaths to relax herself, only to become painfully aware once again that she was wearing a corset. _Cursed thing._  
>Breathing disregarded, she decided it was best to just push whatever she had heard to the back of her mind. At least until tonight had finished anyway.<p>

Feeling calmer - if not still slightly in pain, all Sarah had to do now was wait for the signal to go.

* * *

><p>Sarah was the only foreign student in the class, but among hundreds of other students studying abroad in central London.<br>The busy capitol had been a welcome change from the sleepy suburbs where she had grown up, but she missed her family terribly – especially her now six year old brother. She had always thought that after high school she would go study at the local college. But all through her final year there was always a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her she needed something more, something foreign and unfamiliar and exhilarating at the same time.

-.-

After an anxious couple of weeks spent waiting for their reply, Sarah had been elated that she was offered a place to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama, one of the most prestigious drama schools in the United Kingdom, producing acting talent such as Dame Helen Mirren, Lady Diana Cooper and Dawn French. It hadn't taken much convincing from Sarah to get her family to say yes to letting her study in England. Her father was happy that her daughter wanted explore the world. In fact, even Karen was happy for her, going as far as giving her a hand with filling in the application form - although Sarah doubted her motives behind it. There was an unspoken truce between her and her step-mother, but even Sarah knew she was happy to be rid of her.  
>Toby, however, was not happy with the decision. He clung to her leg as she bid her final goodbyes to her family, his eyes wide and watery and pleading her not to go.<br>As Sarah looked into his baby blue eyes she truly didn't want to leave Toby, but her desire to go out into the big wide world was all she could think about. It was just something she had to do, selfish as it was. She would miss telling him stories every night as much as he did - and after reassuring him that she would call once a week and visit during the holidays, he gave his sister a tearful hug and waved her goodbye as she boarded her flight.

-.-

She could recall what people had told her before she had left about England, warning her that the people were snobby, the food was disgusting and it rained 24/7. Although true about the weather, London was actually a lively capitol that was as culturally diverse as New York. The food wasn't that bad either.

She had settled into her student digs easily enough, and become fast friends with her fellow classmates, one of which was her roommate, Lucy Connors.  
>Apparently, Lucy was what was known as a "Chelsea girl", having being brought up in London's upper class Chelsea with an entrepreneur father and stunningly beautiful mother. Despite that, Lucy was polite, kind and overall rather pleasant to be with - not at all snobby like the English stereotype. That's not to say that Lucy wasn't a little spoilt, but Sarah didn't mind that at all. She had grown much since her teenage years - she still had a bit of a spoilt streak herself.<p>

-.-

It was a few months into her second year of education that the idea for their performance was born.

Every year the University would put on their annual Shakespearian play as part of a long running tradition. After all, it was only natural for an English University would pay homage to the great bard, even more so since many of the University's alumni had become great Shakespearian actors themselves.

This year, A Midsummer Night's Dream had been chosen.

"Miss. Connors will be directing" Trilled the voice of the drama teacher, dumping a dusty copy of the play unceremoniously into Lucy's hands, obviously thrilled with the idea that she would be taking a backseat for the next four months. Not that Lucy cared, she nearly jumped for joy at the opportunity to finally gain some experience in directing, something that was scarce on this course.  
>Only, that was not all the teacher wanted her to do, "Oh...and the staff would love to see a <em>modern<em> take on this classic play, fresh faces such as yourselves should be brimming with ideas for something **new** and **exciting**! I expect you to hand me a your finished idea by the end of the month."

Somehow, Lucy had managed to meet the deadline. Suffice to say, she did have to abandon her social life and a few nights worth of sleep in order to achieve it - and she had gotten off lightly! If she didn't have Sarah Williams keeping her on track and helping her with the ideas, who knows what would have happened when she presented her idea.

"- And so, we will be drawing on experimental theatre as our key idea for this performance. The audience- or should I say _guests_ will play the roles of Lysander, Helena, Demetrius and Hermia. The performers however will be taking on the role of the fair folk. There is much to be explored in the area physical theatre and tricking the audience would be a rather demanding feat. I'm sure there will be an adequate amount of evidence for you to mark."

The drama teacher looked down at Lucy's plans with a mask of indifference, her spectacles resting on the edge of her nose as she shifted through the ten page plan Lucy had placed before her. Lucy could feel her heart pounding against her chest. Her teacher was reading through too quickly, and with her face note giving away her feeling at all, Lucy was prepared for the worst.  
><em>She doesn't like it... Perhaps it's not a good idea after all.<br>_  
>"Well Miss. Connors." She drawled out, eyeing Lucy like a hawk about to devour its pray. Lucy felt a cold sweat going down her back. <em>If looks could kill...<em>  
>"You've certainly outdone yourself. This is <span>exactly <span>the kind of piece we were expecting, original...modern and most certainly outside of the box!"

Lucy nearly fell over.  
><em>Oh my... I honestly can't believe it. <em>

She had never felt more relieved in her life.

"However," _Ah. There's a however... Silly me for assuming she would just approve it like that._ "I must call your attention on one..._ particular_ problem I can see with this performance. How do you propose my colleagues and I are to_ mark_your performance when there most likely be several "party goers" obstructing out view?"

She felt the teacher penetrative gaze on her now, scrutinizing her ability to direct. No doubt she though Lucy was foolish enough not to think the whole idea through, if her condescending tone was anything to go by.  
><em>How dare she treat me as if I am an idiot.<em> _I'll show her_.

"The party will be running over several hours, which performances will be doing on a rotary basis. You will notice at the back of my proposed idea I have attached a schedule in with the performance outline which, hopefully should give you sufficient time to watch each individual exam candidate. However, if the time period is not sufficient I will be happy to alter the schedule accordingly. I've also attached some of the costumes designs in order for you to be able to easily identify the performers from the guest members. Your presence as examiners will also be less obvious provided that you dress accordingly for the party."_  
>Undermine me, you old hag!<br>_  
>Her drama teacher smiled at this.<br>"Well then Miss. Connors, It seem you really_ have_ outdone yourself. I approve your performance."

Lucy left with a cocky grin plastered on her face.  
><em>Sarah's going to be ecstatic when I tell her!<em>

-.-

The weeks passed by quickly and productively. Lucy, with the help of Sarah had made all the preparations necessary for the summer performance with enough time to coach the rest of the class in to acting like faeries ready for their experimental theatre piece. They had both worked together with the designers to get everything the way they wanted.

Next on the girls agenda was securing a location for the performance.

True to the setting of Shakespeare's play, the performance was to take place in a woods; albeit in quintessentially English woodland, but one that had long been associated with mythical beings -Queen's wood. Ancient as the woods was, it now belonged to England's National trust and had taken several weeks of discussion before they had secured a permit to use the woodland for the night. But for that one night, Sarah and Lucy were going to restore the once mythical woodland, shrouded in mystery and intrigue once again for the audiences pleasure.

That left only the acting.

Lucy was thankful to be able to leave Sarah with the coaching aspect, as she knew next to nothing about anything fantasy-related. Sarah however, knew in immense detail how fae's looked, behaved and interacted. It was almost as if she had some first-hand experience in dealing with them. Not being one to believe in such a thing, Lucy dismissed the idea and put it down to Sarah's eccentricity in relation to fantasy. That being said, Sarah did know her stuff, and pretty soon she had all the performers become the tricksters needed to make the performance a success.

Now they only had to do was wait for Lughnasadh.

* * *

><p><strong>Queen's Wood (Backstage Area): 1<strong>**st**** of August, 7:57pm  
><strong>  
>The air felt electric; a combination of stress and excitement that Sarah knew as the pre-show buzz. Auditory hallucination forgotten, she felt giddy and euphoric.<p>

She weaved her way through the crowd of people to her entrance point, joining her fellow cast members, who were dressed similar to herself.

"TWO MINUTES!"

Sarah smiled as she caught a glimpse of her Lucy, clipboard in hand and herself in costume. She was ushering the rest of the performers due on stage to where Sarah was standing, and upon seeing her friend gave her hug that tighter than her corset was.  
>"Sarah! The costumes are amazing! They look just like the designs."<br>"Well, we do have some amazing costume designers."  
>"I know! It's amazing isn't it? I do hope it all pays off in the end..."<br>"It will Lucy, especially since you've put so much effort into this! In fact, everyone has."  
>Lucy looked down at her watch and realised the time.<br>"So Sorry Sarah... I guess it's time for you all to enter. I will be on in the next half hour or so... break a leg!"

And with that, Lucy gave the go signal for the first lot of performers to enter the party and begin their midsummer night's performance.

Sarah took a deep breath.  
><em>I can do this...piece of cake. <em>  
><em><strong><br>a piece of cake, is it? Well, let's see how you deal with this little slice...**_

* * *

><p>Hi, welcome to my second piece of Laby fanfiction, and thank you for reading the first chapter!<p>

The basis for this story is rather bizarre, I know - but I've never been one to do generic stories so you may have to go with me on this one. It was greatly inspired a masquerade performance I saw at a festival in Leeds. Audience members were able to walk around a park and interact with the performers. Dressed in masquerade outfits they would perform at you, stare at you for several minutes and even bow at you as you walked past them - It was amazing! If you've never experienced experimental theatre before, or any form of audience participation you're missing out. They're great fun to put on or watch, and it's a brilliant way to fully involve the audience in your performance.

And yes, I apologize that this chapter has a lot explaining in it, but I wanted to get it all out of the way so I could have some fun with the story to come. I wanted to show that Sarah has grown a bit and wanted to explore the world, and I tried to keep it as interesting as I could...

I also apologize for the lack of Jareth! Hopefully he should be coming into this story next chapter, with the addition of another famous character (anyone who guesses who it is gets a gold star!) (:

Anyway, I hope I've not bored you all to death with this chapter.

Please, if you have any feedback, including spelling mistakes, bad writing ect. let me know! I welcome honest feedback if it means I can grow as I writer. I'm not a very experienced yet and although I do have some knowledge of folk lore and other things chances are I'm going to get stuff wrong. Please let me know if I do!

-Goldenskittles 


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